Episode Two: Dope Slapped
During a telephone support call with the church bookkeeper to diagnose a printer problem with the financial database software, Ryan is called to the church to personally fix the problem as it requires administrative access. When he gets there, a seemingly innocuous action of finishing the conversation while simultaneously logging in, without looking at the screen or keyboard, leads the bookkeeper to suddenly remember a job opening. She says her sister works there, and that they need someone who can type accurately and speedily. She gives me the name and telephone number and suggests I call to arrange a meeting. She says the job would be part-time, but that the hours would be 4pm until whenever. Ryan hid his disappointment. Over the past few weeks, he’d grown accustomed to attending the Tuesday night services, as well his work on Wednesday nights for the Youth. Those hours would have conflicted and Ryan didn’t want to have to make that decision. So he prayed. Knowing the hours, though, he couldn’t choose money over God, and decided to set the number aside.
Because of a short film shoot with Trey the previous weekend, Ryan was unable to work for his father and therefore did not get the infusion of money, however small it was, to get through the week. While on an outing to spend the last bit of cash for lunch, Ryan receives another call from the bookkeeper. She reports that the job opportunity is still open and that they’re anxious for me to apply. They want me to call as soon as possible. It’s at this point that Ryan realizes just how stupid he is.
Ryan returns home quickly and collects his thoughts for a moment. He digs out the paper with the number on it and dials, but hesitates before hitting SEND. After taking a deep breath and, with the fatalism of someone jumping off a cliff into the unknown, he presses SEND. The phone dials, he calls and talks. The voice on the other end explains that it’s a part-time job, the hours would be around 10am until 4pm, and would probably pay around 10 dollars an hour — and he wants him to come in and apply. After directions are given, Ryan quickly cleans up and sets out. The application process goes well, until the interviewer discovers that Ryan hadn’t had a job in a while. He has Ryan write fill out a form, explicitly stating the intervening period to preemptively alleviate any fears that the decision makers may have. Ryan is given a card with another telephone number. It’s an automated interview process that asks various personal questions about activities and opinions. After calling that number and the interviewer gets the results he’ll be in contact.
Ryan calls the number, goes through the menu and answers the questions. The next day Ryan receives a call from the company. He’s asked to come in the next day so that he can undergo a drug screen. And there was much rejoicing as Ryan realized that it’s one of the final tasks just before being hired!